Eussell handy



' (No Model.)

R. HANDY.

MACHINE FOR SPLITTING DOUBLE- PILE FABRICS.

No. 368,829. Patented Aug. Z3. 1887.

EEEEEEE N. PETERS, Phflo'Lilhognpher, Washington. D. C

UNITED STATES RUSSELL HANDY, OF MANVILLE, RHODE ISLAND.

MACHINE FOR SPLITTING DOUBLE PILE FABRICS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,829, dated August23, 1887.

Application filed September 15, 1885. Serial No. 177,131. (No model.)

To all whom it-may concern:

Be it known that I, RUssELL HANDY, of Manville, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Machinesfor Splitting Double Piled Fabrics; and I herebydeclare that the following is aifull, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification.

This invention has reference to an improvement in machines for cuttingor separating such fabrics as have been woven with two surfaces,consisting of warp and filling, into which loops are interwoven, which,when out into two sheets, give a velvet surface on one side of thefabric-such as is the case in velvet, velveteen, and velvet carpets.

The invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction of themachine, by which the fabric is firmly held while a rotating knife orcutter separates the pile, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine, the framing, thecylindrical knife, and the fabric being shown as in a longitudinalcentral section and the interior of the machine being exposed to view.Fig. 2 is a top view of the machine, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section ofthe machine. 7 I

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

When in the manufacture of velvet, velveteen, or velvet carpets twobacks or bodies are woven with the pile of the fabric extending from oneback or body to the other, and the two are separated so as to form twosheets, each with a piled or velvet surface, the cutting of the pilebecomes a delicate operation, first, because the two fabrics must be cutexactly in the middle of the length of the pile, and, second, thethreads forming the pile must be out without any tearing strain on thepile. The cleaner and smoother the cut the evener and more uniform willbe the surface of the fabric; and as most of these fabrics are coloredand finished with a high luster, the slightest strain or tearing of thefiber in cutting will produce defects that can be readily seen by thepurchaser, In my improved ma chine the fabric is cut by a revolvingknife, the surface speed of which is very high, so that the fibers arecut evenly and without the slightest strain.

In the drawings, A is the driving-shaft, on which is mounted the knifeor cutter B, which consists of a circular disk provided with a hub, bywhich it is secured to the drivingshaft, and a cylindrical steel knifesecured on the periphery of the disk so as to project beyond the disk,as is shown in Fig. 1. This cylindrical knife is driven at a high speed,having a velocity of about five thousand feet per minute.

G is a metal arched fcedtablc, the flanged or bent ends 0 of which restin bolsters or bearings K set on the machine-frame in a fixed position.Each bolster or bearing K is a foursided rectangular-shaped body, and,as clearly shown, the same consists of a base with three uprightsides,'which have screw-thre aded perforations therein to receive theadjusting screws 0 settherein. Each flange c of the arched table 0 isprovided with a screwthreaded eye, having an adjusting-screw, It,working therein in an obvious manner. The flanges c are set looselyinthe bolsters K,with the screws resting on the base thereof, whereby thetable may be adjusted vertically in an evident way by working thescrews. The flanges c are engaged on three edges by the ends of theadjusting-screws c, and may accordingly be moved laterallyorlongitudinally for adjustment relative to the knife B by means ofscrews 0. By virtue of this construc tion the arch can be accuratelyadjusted to the knife and the space between the top of the arch O andthe knife adjusted to the thickness of the cloth; or, in other words,the knife being a fixture, the arch G can be adjusted so that the knifewill cut the fabric into two sheets of equal thickness. volves in onedirection at great speed, the cloth must be held firmly to prevent itsslipping on the arch G. For this purpose the arch As the knife refabricand restrain -it against the lateral displacement which would be causedby the action of the rotating knife without these rolls or someequivalent devices.

Corresponding in form with the metal arched feed-table O is the archedbed D, which may be made of any suitable material. It forms the guide orsupport of the fabric, which is drawn over the same toward the knife.

E is an arched guide placed over the bed D, so that the fabric can passbetween the bed D and the guide E, and this guide E is provided with therolls 0 c, which are similar to the rollsd d, and also provided withspurs or points, which enter the fabric from above and hold the sameagainst lateral displacement. I prefer to make the rolls 0 6 larger thanthe rolls d d, and provide the same with longer points, so as to holdthe fabric firmly.

F is the cloth-beam from which the fabric is delivered to the cutter orknife to be separated. The cloth-beam is restrained from revolving bythe usual friction device, f, so that the proper amount of tension issecured on the fabric to be operated upon.

When the fabric has been separated into two sheets, the lower sheet isdrawn under the arched feed-table G and wound upon the roller G, whilethe upper sheet is drawn over the knife B and is wound on the roller H.These rollers may be driven in any suitable manner, so that they bothdraw the fabric but allow the strlain to come on the lower half of thesheet on y.

I do not wish to confine myself to the exact means shown, which consistof the shaft I, the worm-gear i, and the drive-chains M and N, andchain-pulleysO, g, and h, which all operatein an obvious manner, asshown in Fig. 1.

The revolving knife B must be maintained in-the best possible conditionto easily out the pile of the fabric, and. for this purpose theemery-wheels L L are placed in adjustable bearings, so as to continuallysharpen the edge of the knife, one bearing against the inside and oneagainst the outside of the knife. The emery-Wheels are loosely mountedin the brackets J, fixed upon the machine-framing, and are each drivenby fixed pulleys on their axes, over which pass the bands m,respectively, the bands 1 7 being in turn passed over a pulley, R, fixedupon the main shaft I. The wheels L are arranged with their axes obliqueto the line of motion of the moving knife B. The grinders L L are placedat an angle to the edge of the knife, so that the grinding contact isoblique tothe edge. By this arrangement of the grinders the knife-edge,when examined byamagnifying-glass of high power, presents the appearanceof a fine saw, the longer angles of which saw-teeth are in the directionof the motion of the knife, so that the knife exerts a drawing out onthe fibers rather than a sawing or hooking cut. This-method of grindingthe knife facilitates the cutting of the fabric and produces a smoothersurface than when the knife is ground in the opposite direction. Inpractice I find this arrangement of the grinders to secure a clean evenout without strain on the fiber.

The machine is mounted on a suitable frame, D, on which the archedfeed-table, guide and bed, the cloth-beam, and the rollers aresupported.

Any piled fabric-such as velvet, velveteen, or piled carpets-when woven,as hereinbefore described, can be readily split by this machine withgreat rapidity, so as to present an even smooth velvety surface. 1

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. The combination,as hereinbefore set forth, with acylindrical knife and actuating means therefor, of an arched feed-tableprovided with means for adjusting the table relatively to the knife,whereby the length of the cut pile may be regulated, a series of idlestretching-wheels or the like disposed upon said feed-table, andcloth-rollers and driving mechanism therefor, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination of an endless knife and actuating means therefor, afeed-table having means for adjustment, substantially as described, andprovided with a support, a set of idle spur-wheels or the like disposedupon said table, a guide provided with spur or feed wheels disposedthereon, a bed co-operating with the guide, said guide placed in a planeparallel to the plane of the table, whereby the cloth may pass betweenthem, and cloth-rollers and driving mechanism therefor, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of a cylindrical knife and actuating means therefor,an arched feedtable provided with spur or stretching wheels, and havingmeans, substantially as described, for adjusting the same in three ways,as vertically, laterally, and longitudinally, relative to said knife.

4. The combination of the cylindrical knife and actuating meanstherefor, an arched feedtable having the means of adjustment therefor,the idle spur-wheels set loosely in said arched table, the arched guideprovided with idle spur -wheels mounted loosely thereon and placed abovethe plane of the table, the arched bed co-operating with said guide,andthe clothrollers and driving means therefor, all substantially asdescribed.

v5. The combination of the machine-frame, the cylindrical knife B andactuating means therefor, the arched feed-table 0, having the idle spurwheels or rollers d and provided with adjusting-screws 7c, and thebolsters or bearings K, provided with adjusting-screws c and mounted onthe machine-frame, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination, with the cylindrical knife B and arch C, of therollers d d, provided with points which enter the fabric, as described.

7. The combination, with. the arch D, the

arch 0, provided with the rollers d d, and the knife 13, of the arch E,constructed to guide the fabric onto the arch D, as described.

8. The combination, with the arches O D E, the rollers d d, and therotating knife B, of the rollers e e, constructed to hold the fabric, as

described.

9. The combination,with the c1oth-beam F, of the revolving knife B, thearches E D 0, provided with means for holding the fabric against theaction of the knife 13, and the rollers H G, provided with drivingmechanism constructed to draw the fabric over the edge of the knife tosplit the same, as described.

10. The combination of the feed-table consisting of the semicirculararched band, the

RUSSELL HANDY.

Witnesses: E. R. HANDY, T. H. HANDY.

